This invention lies in the field of maintenance tools and is directed to a tool for maintaining snow skis. It is more particularly directed to a combination tool which performs all of the standard functions called for in maintaining skis in first class condition.
Skiing has become a very popular sport in the United States as well as in many other countries around the world, and there are now millions of skiers using the slopes every season. The quality of skis has been gradually increasing over the years, and more and more skiers are using the best skis they can buy. As the quality of skis has improved, the users have become increasingly aware of the desirability of maintaining them in first class condition at all times. The best skiers believe that their skis should be maintained after each day of use.
Standard maintenance includes repairing gouges and scratches in the bottom, flat filing the bottom, sharpening the edges, and waxing and corking the bottom. When this is done by a ski shop the cost is very high and consequently many skiers do their own maintenance as well as they can. For this purpose they use several separate tools, some of which require considerable skill in operation to improve the ski rather than damage it. Filing of the bottom and side edges is ordinarily done by gripping the ends of a medium size mill-type or mill bastard file and moving it along the length of the bottom and side edges. It is very difficult to control the attitude and direction of the file and it wanders laterally during longitudinal movement along the length of the ski. Since even the best file leaves microscopic scratches the result is random wavy scratches in the bottom which detract from the directional qualities of the ski. When the file is used on the side edges it is extremely difficult to keep the blade exactly perpendicular to the bottom. As the file wobbles in its movement along the length of the ski it produces an uneven edge which may have sharp, and wavy patterns rather than a uniform straight and sharp edge.
Modern ski bottoms are generally made of a high quality plastic material comprising almost the entire width, bordered on each side by an angle cross section steel strip to present a sharp right angled edge for control and maneuvering. One variety of plastic in common use goes under the trade name P-Tex. When gouges and scratches are found in the ski bottom a stick of P-Tex or similar plastic base repair and filler material is melted and dripped on the damaged spots, filling them in and leaving excess filler rising above the plane of the bottom. To attain a surface flat enough to apply a file, it is necessary to use a blade, such as a large putty knife with a straight laterally directed free edge and push or pull it along the ski bottom to remove the excess filler. This tool is also difficult to handle. If it is held at too flat an angle it tends to ride over the excess filler and if it is held at too steep an angle it tends to make new gouges which require further filling.
Thus, it will be seen that home repair by an unskilled operator may well do more harm than good, and that there is a definite need for a tool which requires very little skill in use and will perform the desired functions at a professional level.